Alicia Taylor
Not many chefs can lay claim to being maverick liqueur producers, but then not many chefs are possessed of such talent as Dave Verheul. Two years before Melbourne’s Covid lockdowns, the Kiwi began making vermouth for customers at Embla, the Russell Street institution he co-owns with Christian McCabe.
Instead of the traditional spice-and-caramel-forward route, Verheul focused on fresh ingredients, using his wood oven to maximise flavour. Late in 2020, he released his first commercial bottling under the Saison banner, though he didn’t start out with the idea to take his product to market, he says. “I just love bitter drinks and working with alcohol and flavour development is fascinating.”
The House Vermouth is an infusion of roasted hazelnuts, vanilla and smoked fig leaves in a base of moscato and shiraz, embittered with Australian wormwood and barrel-aged. And while it’s a pleasure to sip over ice and a shoo-in for Negronis or Manhattans, Verheul says it works best in a Hanky Panky, a sweet Martini riff immortalised in The Savoy Cocktail Book.
“The dry gin really brings the sweetness down,” he says, “and the Fernet adds an extra punch of spice.”
How to make Dave Verheul’s Hanky Panky recipe
In a cocktail mixing glass, combine 45ml London Dry gin, 45ml Saison Aperitifs House Vermouth (see note) and 1 tsp Fernet-Branca.
Fill with ice, and stir continuously until lightly diluted and well-chilled. Strain into a chilled Nick and Nora glass and garnish with an orange twist.
Saison Aperitifs House Vermouth is available from select specialty bottle shops.
Note
Three dry gins to try in a Hanky Panky
Poor Toms Sydney dry gin
Verheul’s gin of choice is a breezy, blossom-fragrant ode to homegrown botanicals with strawberry gum at the fore.
The West Winds Distillers The Cutlass gin
This overproof whopper is built for fans of a bold New World style, assertively savoury and spiced to the high nines.
Never Never Distilling Co triple juniper gin
Piney and punchy yet bright all the same, Never Never’s flagship does the London Dry tradition very proud indeed.
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